{"id":24661,"date":"2015-08-27T06:22:18","date_gmt":"2015-08-27T13:22:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=24661"},"modified":"2015-08-27T07:41:11","modified_gmt":"2015-08-27T14:41:11","slug":"on-feeling-inadequate-as-a-photographer-and-the-worst-sony-a7r-ii-review-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/27\/on-feeling-inadequate-as-a-photographer-and-the-worst-sony-a7r-ii-review-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"On Feeling Inadequate as a Photographer (and the Worst Sony A7R II Review Ever)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is written by Neil Ta<\/a>, originally posted here<\/a>. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by\u00c2\u00a0Eric or any other contributors to the website.<\/em><\/p>\n

My life is pretty good. I live in one of the coolest cities in the world, I have a lot of close friends, good family, an amazing girlfriend who loves me, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m beginning to think my photography business is sustainable after almost five years of hard work. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happier now than I have been for most of my life. But here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the reality: I am just a blue collar photographer. I hustle my ass off to take photographs for people. If I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take photos, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make money, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t pay my rent, and I end up\u00c2\u00a0homeless and get forced into a\u00c2\u00a0job as a fake pan-handling\u00c2\u00a0monk<\/a><\/b>. I will likely never amass great riches from photography. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m ok with that, I think<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Recently, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been running into friends who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done really well for themselves. A friend still in his 20\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s whose tech start-up is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, a close childhood friend who bought a new Porsche 911, several others who run successful businesses or are directors or VPs of large corporations, and everyone who seems to be living in a home larger than 400 square feet (that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t packed to the brim with camera equipment). In the photography world, I have friends who are massive industry icons with hefty social media presences. In comparison, I am a virtual nobody. At times, I can\u00c2\u00a0feel inadequate compared to them.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me wrong, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m incredibly proud of my friends\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 achievements. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked extremely hard in order to get where they are. My jealousy is more a reflection of my own insecurities and life choices. So why is it that despite me being happier than I ever have been in my life do I still feel overwhelmed by the successes of others? I wanted to dive into this a little bit more, so I put pen to paper to help try to make sense of it and to find a solution. Here are some of the strategies I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come up with to deal with my feelings of\u00c2\u00a0inadequacy:<\/p>\n

Remember What Life Used to Be Like<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

Holy shit my life used to suck.\u00c2\u00a0It wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t long ago when I suffered from extreme anxiety. It got to the point that I would roll out of bed dreading to go to work. I had a lot of health issues and legitimately thought I was dying. I had underwent almost every medical test available to me. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know at the time that anxiety could manifest itself into physical sickness. The illness was largely due to the stresses and discontentment I experienced at my past job. I had been unhappy there for several years but just kept on hanging around hoping things would get better. They never did.\u00c2\u00a0When it was evident that things would be getting worse, I decided to leave and take extended time off to travel the world.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

During my travels, I really connected with photography, deciding shortly after I got home that I would be pursuing it as a career. Most of\u00c2\u00a0my health problems disappeared and my life got exponentially better. When I look back on how unhappy my life was, I feel grateful that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m no longer in that situation. The takeaway here is: anything is better than my life from five or six years ago.<\/p>\n

Remember Experiences are More Important than Things<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve tried really hard to value experiences in life over material possessions. Sure, I do love my cameras and shoes but other than that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a lot of material desires. I drive a 15 year old car, live in the previously mentioned 400 square foot hell hole, and still regularly wear clothes that are 5+ years old. With the money I save from living quasi-frugally, I am able to\u00c2\u00a0experience more things \u00e2\u20ac\u201c regular travel, decent meals, and lots of Kekou gelato.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

So while others make a boatload more money than I do, they may not have the flexibility to get away for extended periods of time during the winter or duck out of work to see their adorable\u00c2\u00a0niece and nephew. These are the types of experiences I value over things.<\/p>\n

Giving your money away can actually make you feel a lot happier as well. Each year I try to support the\u00c2\u00a0Rotary Wheels\u00c2\u00a0for Learning<\/a><\/b>\u00c2\u00a0charity that helps purchase bicycles for needy children in Cambodia so that they have a means of getting to school. It brings me a lot of joy to know that my money is directly influencing the lives of others. Earlier this year, I paid my way to Cambodia and helped the Rotary team assemble bikes for hundreds of kids. It was incredibly enriching and\u00c2\u00a0an important reminder of why money is only good if it is used to\u00c2\u00a0buy life\u00c2\u00a0experiences over material possessions.<\/p>\n

The Money You Have is Never Enough but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s More Than Enough<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

There are studies<\/a><\/b> that show that after the necessities of life are taken care of, the amount of money you make plays little to no factor in your level of happiness. So for example, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re making $10,000 a year in Toronto your happiness level will likely be really low since that is not enough to meet the necessities of life. However, if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re comparing the happiness of someone making $50,000 and another person making $1,000,000 it is likely there is no difference in their levels of happiness. In fact, the person making $1,000,000 is likely to be unhappier because their job would have greater stresses and demands.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

Drawing from our own\u00c2\u00a0personal experiences, I think we can all remember happy times when we didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make much money. Think about what it was like being a broke college student.\u00c2\u00a0When you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have money, it can add a lot of stress in your life leading to unhappiness. But once you can meet the basic necessities of life, it really doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have bearing on your overall contentment. Yet we believe that\u00c2\u00a0the money we have isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00c2\u00a0enough.<\/p>\n

Somewhere, Someone is Envious of You<\/b><\/h2>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

Envy and jealousy are funny things. When I talk to my friends of\u00c2\u00a0their successes and I start to wish that Porsche they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re driving was mine, they will often respond back by saying they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re envious of my travel experiences and the flexibility\/freedom in my work\u00c2\u00a0schedule and being your own boss.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week, I bought the new Sony A7R<\/span> II<\/span> camera. It is the hottest camera to hit the streets in years, with long waiting lists to get. It seems that every photographer\u00c2\u00a0wants it. I guess some people wish they had my camera, even though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m more or\u00c2\u00a0less over it already (scroll down for my full review). So while I am drooling over my buddy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Porsche 911, others are drooling over my camera and at the end of the jealousy chain is some poor kid with clean water and food envy. So no matter where you seem to be or what you appear to have or don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there are others who want to be where you are.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

So yes, I do sometimes feel inadequate in life. I know\u00c2\u00a0others have more stuff than me and are doing bigger and better\u00c2\u00a0things. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s millions of photographers that are better than I am.\u00c2\u00a0But at the end of the day, I am happy where I am. When I started my photography career, all I wanted was to earn an honest\u00c2\u00a0living from it. I never thought I would see the successes I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve experienced so far.\u00c2\u00a0I see progress with my photography and have a bit more clarity in my life direction.\u00c2\u00a0To my friends who are killing it: keep killing it! And to those who sometimes feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve felt this\u00c2\u00a0past little while, I leave you with some perspective\u00c2\u00a0from one of my favourite songwriters,\u00c2\u00a0Eddie Vedder:\u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Notes (+ A7R<\/span> II<\/span> Review):<\/b> all images used to illustrate this post\u00c2\u00a0were taken haphazardly with the new Sony\u00c2\u00a0A7R<\/span> II<\/span> camera. The camera does exactly what cameras do. It is more similar to the camera you already have than it is different.\u00c2\u00a0It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice toy. However, it is highly unlikely that\u00c2\u00a0my clients will\u00c2\u00a0notice any difference in what I deliver to them. Verdict:<\/b> buy it if 1) you have enough in your bank account to buy it outright\u00c2\u00a0and to cover life expenses for at least\u00c2\u00a0three months 2)\u00c2\u00a0the differences in this camera compared to yours will result in new business and; 3) it provides\u00c2\u00a0greater shooting enjoyment.<\/p>\n

Personally, I would still prefer to use a Fuji X100T<\/span> for personal work and as an everyday camera over the Sony A7R<\/span> II.<\/span> I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t completely\u00c2\u00a0replace my Canon 5D<\/span> Mark III as my workhorse<\/span>\u00c2\u00a0either because I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t replicate the skintones I get from the Canons. Plus for the most part I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to shoot weddings at 42MP.<\/span> My computer will explode.<\/p>\n

Neil’s portfolio<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Neil’s Instagram<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Neil’s Xpan Blog<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Neil’s Facebook<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A7R<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is written by Neil Ta, originally posted here. The views posted here are his and his alone and may or may not be shared by\u00c2\u00a0Eric or any other contributors to the website. \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24662,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ek_photo_artist_note":"","_ek_photo_thesis":"","_ek_photo_camera":"","_ek_photo_place":"","_ek_photo_human_moment":"","_ek_photo_sequence":"","_ek_photo_question":"","_ek_photo_canonical_claim":"","_ek_photo_ai_summary":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-posts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/A7R-Test-11.jpg?fit=1920%2C1281&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}